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CHAPTER 3: SUMMARY OF CASE STUDIES

Although more collaborative efforts may exist, the five case studies selected

represent some of the most promising--and prominent--landscape scale efforts in place

today. A summary of the age, service area, mission, participants, structure, funding, key

accomplishments, and unique features of each group follows. For a quick, visual

reference, Table 3 summarizes this information (next page). The general location of each

effort is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Case Study Locations

Bay AreaOpen Space Council

Northern Rockies Initiative(unofficial name) Mississippi

BlufflandsAlliance

MichiganDune Alliance

NorthQuabbinRegional

LandscapePartnership

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Table 3: Summary of Landscape Scale Collaborative Initiatives

Program BLUFFLANDSALLIANCE

BAY AREAOPENSPACECOUNCIL

MICHIGANDUNEALLIANCE

NORTHQUABBINREGIONALLANDSCAPEPARTNERSHIP

NORTHERNROCKIESINITIATIVE(unofficialname)

DateEstablished

1993 1990 1999 1997 2000

ServiceArea

MississippiRiverBlufflands inMinnesota,Wisconsin,Illinois, andIowa

Nine countiesbordering theSan FranciscoBay inCalifornia

Eastern shoreof LakeMichigan inMichigan

Approximately1800 squaremiles in north-centralMassachusetts

westernWyoming,Idaho,east/centralMontana,BritishColumbia,and Alberta

Mission To “coordinateland protectionefforts in theregion whileeducatinglandowners andothers about itssignificance”

“Tostrengthen thetechnicalcapacity ofthe park &open spaceorganizationsand &agenciesactive in theregion, & tobroadenpublicsupport andfinancialcommitmentto open spaceprotection”

To “promoteconservationandstewardshipof the coastalmarshes,dunes,forests andfreshwaterriver systemsalong theshores ofLakeMichigan”

“To collaborateto identify,protect, andenhance strategicecological,cultural, andhistoric openspace in the rurallandscape of theNorth QuabbinRegion”

Still workingto define;currently “alooseassociation ofland trusts inthe Rockieswho arelooking atways ofworkingtogether toconserve themostimportant &threatenedlands in theregion”

Participants -Four local landtrusts (two in

Illinois and twoin Wisconsin)

-Two statewideland trusts(Minnesota andIowa)

Over 150organizations,includingprivate,nonprofitland trustsand publicpark andopen spaceagencies

-Five landtrusts- The NatureConservancy-A smallnumber ofstate andfederal landmanagementagencies

At least 25privateorganizations,regional andmunicipalcommissions, andstate and federalagencies,including threeland trusts

Over 20 localland trustsand nationallandconservationorganizationswith offices inthe region

(continues nextpage)

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Program BLUFFLANDSALLIANCE

BAY AREAOPENSPACECOUNCIL

MICHIGANDUNEALLIANCE

NORTHQUABBINREGIONALLANDSCAPEPARTNERSHIP

NORTHERNROCKIESINITIATIVE(unofficialname)

Structure Internalcoordinationwith assistancefrom GatheringWatersConservancy(WI); decisionsmade byconsensus;operationsgoverned by awrittenpartnershipagreement

Coordinatedby three staffmembers ofthe GreenbeltAlliance; fullcouncil andExecutiveCommitteemeet inalternatemonths; looseconsensusformat

TheConservationFund hasserved ascoordinator,facilitator,consultant,and fiscalagent for thegroup, whichoperates onan informal,consensusbasis

An executivecommittee meetson a quarterlybasis, while thefull group meetsapproximatelytwice a year.Coordinator rolevaries.

Meets at leasttwice yearly;currentlycoordinatedby LTA NW

Fundingsource

Privatefoundation;funds must bematched byindividual trusts

40 dues-payingmembers,privatefoundations,and publicsources

Privatefoundationsand publicsources

None designated Privatefoundations

Results(sample)

Joint projectssuch asworkshops,landownerreferrals,purchases ofproperty;individual trustshave negotiatedeasements,added staff,done strategicplanning, etc.

Instrumentalin passage of$55 million +stateconservationbond;sponsorsresearch andworkshops;maintainsGIS databaseof protectedlands

Participatingtrusts havedevelopedthree yearwork plans;some havebeen able tohireadditionalstaff

The protection ofTully Mountainand theestablishment ofthe twenty-milelong Tully LoopTrail

CooperativeGIS mapping;support forconservationplanning andstewardshipprojects

Uniquefeatures ofgroup

-Multi-stateeffort-Writtenpartnershipagreementoutlinescommitments ofparticipants

-Large size-Has threefull time staff-Memberscontributefinancially-Public andprivatepartnerspresent

-Wide rangeofgovernmentpartnerspresent, butdo notparticipate inlandprotectionactivities

-Public andprivate partnerspresent-Large number ofparticipantsrelative tonumber of landtrusts (only 3trusts out of 25+organizations)

-Multi-stateeffort-Very largegeographicscale ofoperations

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THE BLUFFLANDS ALLIANCE (MN, WI, IA, IL)

Founded in 1993, the Blufflands Alliance is “the nation’s first multi-state alliance

of...private organizations working together to save a regional landscape” (Bulasko, 2001,

p. 2G). Non-profit land trusts working along the Mississippi River in four states--

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois--have joined together to “coordinate land

protection efforts in the region while educating landowners and others about its

significance” (Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 2001, p.14). The region encompasses

24 counties and approximately 350 miles of river, north from Davenport, IA to the

confluence with the St. Croix River on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Blufflands Alliance Focus Area (Education Place, 2002)

This stretch of the Mississippi is home to unique geologic features (the “blufflands”), as

well as rare plant species, migratory bird habitat, important Native American

= Focus area of the BlufflandsAlliance

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archeological sites, and productive farmland. It is also “the nation’s fourth-fastest

growing area in terms of rural land consumed by development” (Engstrom, 2000, p.6).

Of the four founding organizations, three continue to participate--the Iowa

Natural Heritage Foundation, the Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy, and the Minnesota

Land Trust; three additional trusts have since joined (the Jo Daviess Conservation

Foundation (IL), the Natural Land Institute (IL), and the Mississippi Valley Conservancy

(WI)). The Standing Cedars Land Conservancy (WI) attends meetings but does not

participate financially. The group meets quarterly for a full day, coordinated in part by

the Gathering Waters Conservancy, an umbrella group located in Wisconsin. Decisions

are made by consensus, and operations are governed by a written partnership agreement,

under which “groups who fail to meet their goals could have Alliance payments withheld

until goals are met or could even be ejected from the Alliance” (Engstrom, 2000, p. 5).

Having this accountability built in helps ensure that the participants meet the goals

outlined in their three-year work plans, as required by the group’s primary funder, the

Minnesota-based McKnight Foundation.

The McKnight funding is primarily targeted toward building each group’s

capacity (through staff, training, workshops, etc.), but some support does go directly to

land protection projects. Participating organizations must match the McKnight

contributions at a 3:1 ratio; thus, the approximately $2.8 million given by McKnight

since 1998 has leveraged around $8.5 million in matching funds. Funds are distributed

through a rotating fiscal agent, based on each group’s capacity to match the funds and to

carry out projects, as determined via required quarterly and annual reports. A revolving

loan fund has been established as well.

The effort has produced impressive results. Almost 12,000 acres of land have

been protected either through acquisition or conservation easement by members of the

Alliance since 1998. Almost 800 landowner contacts and presentations were made in the

same span of time, with around 280 newspaper articles generated as well. Individual

groups have taken on projects to benefit the group effort, such as the Minnesota Land

Trust’s work on conservation development, the Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy’s

investigation of purchase and transfer of development rights programs, and the Iowa

22

Natural Heritage Foundation’s work on habitat conservation needs. Participants have

also worked on joint projects, including co-hosting outreach workshops, sharing

landowner referrals, serving as back-ups on easements, and joint purchases of property.

At the same time, participating groups have benefited individually, either by adding staff,

doing local outreach, completing local projects, training staff, completing strategic plans,

and working with local governments. Future plans include developing an even larger-

scale focus and coordinating conservation efforts from the “headwaters” to the

“backwaters” (encompassing the entire Mississippi River), including looking for federal

funding support.

THE BAY AREA OPEN SPACE COUNCIL (CA)

Founded in 1990, the

Bay Area Open Space

Council involves both

private, nonprofit land

trusts and public park and

open space agencies. The

Council’s area of focus

includes the nine counties

bordering the San Francisco

Bay in California, a large

estuary fed by countless

streams and drainages

flowing into the Bay from

within the nine counties

(Figure 3).

Figure 3: Bay Area Open Space Council Service Area(Bay Area Open Space Council, 2002)

23

Although a large metropolitan area, the Bay Area remains home to a range of wildlife

species, ongoing agricultural enterprises, and outdoor recreational pursuits. A central

purpose of the Council is to “enhance the region’s quality of life by articulating the

region’s vision of which lands should be protected as open space through public

ownership or conservation easements, and by developing financial and organizational

resources to implement this vision” (Bay Area Open Space Council, 2001, p.1). As such,

two “objectives are central to the Council’s mission: first, to strengthen the technical

capacity of the park and open space organizations and agencies active in the region, and

second, to broaden public support and financial commitment to open space protection”

(Bay Area Open Space Council, 1999, p.1).

Over 150 agencies and organizations involved in land conservation and

management in the Bay Area participate in the Council, with approximately 40

organizations contributing as dues-paying members. Fifteen organizations comprise the

Executive Committee, and are representative of the types of participants found in the

council as a whole:

� The California Coastal Conservancy

� East Bay Regional Park District

� Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

� Santa Clara County Open Space Authority

� Trust for Public Land

� San Francisco Bay Joint Venture

� County of San Mateo

� Marin County Open Space District

� County of Santa Clara

� Peninsula Open Space Trust

� Solano County Farmlands and Open Space Foundation

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� Muir Heritage Land Trust

� Save Mt. Diablo

� Landpaths

� Greenbelt Alliance

Three staff members of the Greenbelt Alliance serve as the coordinators of the Council,

disseminating information, conducting research, and organizing the bi-monthly, three-

hour council meetings. In the off-months, the Executive Committee meets to discuss

project ideas, set policy, and provide administrative oversight for the group’s efforts. The

Executive Committee presents project ideas to the full group, which makes decisions

based on a loose consensus format. If a project is proposed and members voice

opposition, another project is selected.

The Greenbelt Alliance serves as the group’s fiscal agent, managing the dues paid

by members (which range from $100/year for small organizations to $1000/year for

larger ones) as well as grant funds received. Support for Council projects has come from

both private and public sources, including institutions as diverse as the David and Lucile

Packard Foundation, the Marin Community Foundation, the California State Coastal

Conservancy, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Metropolitan

Transportation Commission, and the National Park Service.

The Council has been able to accomplish a range of projects, including

spearheading legislation that led to the creation of the Bay Area Conservancy Program in

1997. Funded by the state of California as part of the California Coastal Conservancy,

the Bay Area Conservancy Program channeled $10 million in 1999 and $55 million in

public funding for open space preservation funding to the area (Guenzler et al, 2000).

Additionally, the staff of the Council conducts research on topics of interest to the land

conservation community, such as regional conservation needs and conservation easement

stewardship, hosts workshops and conferences, and coordinates a GIS database of the

region’s protected lands. These efforts have helped identify “gaps,” areas currently

unserved or underserved by open space preservation organizations. The Council has also

identified target areas for preservation as part of a conservation plan produced for the Bay

Area Conservancy program (Bay Area Open Space Council, 1999a). Current projects

25

also include “Transit Outdoors,” encouraging the use of public transportation to reach

natural areas, and promoting AB 104, The Motor Vehicle Mitigation Fund. The Fund

would be created by statewide legislation and would be aimed at reducing the impacts of

motor vehicles on surface waters of the Bay area. Finally, the Council has instigated two

landscape scale initiatives within the larger bay ecosystem, one in the Diablo Ridgelands

and one involving the Blue Ridge-Berryessa Natural Area. Future plans for the group

involve investigating systems for collective easement defense, creating a stewardship

grants program, and facilitating cooperative projects among members.

THE MICHIGAN DUNE ALLIANCE (MI)

Formed in 1999, the Michigan Dune Alliance brings together five land trusts, the

Nature Conservancy, and a small number of state and federal land management agencies.

Assembled to “promote conservation and stewardship of the coastal marshes, dunes,

forests and freshwater river systems along the shores of Lake Michigan,” the Dune

Alliance “seeks to mobilize private, public, and not-for-profit resources to protect the

priceless sand dunes along Lake Michigan” (The Conservation Fund, 2000, p. 1).

Comprising the most extensive freshwater dune ecosystem in the world, the Lake

Michigan shoreline is home to unique and rare species and ecosystems. However, many

of these systems are threatened by development, water quality degradation, and sand

dune mining. The Dune Alliance was formed to help strengthen the local land trusts’

ability to meet these threats.

Current land trust members include the Grand Traverse Regional Land

Conservancy, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, the Leelanau Conservancy, the

Little Traverse Conservancy, and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (all located

in Michigan) (Figure 4).

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Figure 4: Michigan Dune Alliance Locations

The participating land trusts are supported in their efforts by the Michigan and Great

Lakes offices of The Nature Conservancy, the Midwest Office of The Conservation Fund,

the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, the Michigan Department of Natural

Resources, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the US Forest Service,

and the National Park Service. Meetings are currently held as needed and are

approximately three hours long. At least three times a year, meetings include educational

presentations of interest to participants (on freshwater ecology, stewardship, funding

Chicago

Lansing

Petoskey

Milwaukee

Detroit

Traverse City

LAKEMICHIGAN

Approximate location of participating land trusts:

1. Little Traverse Conservancy2. Leelanau Conservancy3. Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

1

4. Land Conservancy of West Michigan5. Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

23

4

5

27

possibilities, etc.). The Conservation Fund has served as coordinator, facilitator,

consultant, and fiscal agent for the group, which operates on an informal, consensus

basis.

Funding thus far has come from both private foundations and public sources. Of

the $722,000 the Alliance received in December of 2000, $600,000 came from the

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, $72,000 was from the US Environmental Protection

Agency, and $50,000 came from the Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program

(Land Trust Alliance, 2001). The current plan is to distribute these funds to the land trusts

twice a year, according to the progress each has made on their “work plans,” as reported

in bi-annual progress reports. Each participating land trust has generated a three-year

work plan, outlining how and when it will develop site plans for targeted conservation

areas within its region. Fourteen “targeted sites” were identified by The Nature

Conservancy through its eco-regional planning process. Thus far, funds have been

distributed to gather information and, in some cases, hire additional staff. Future plans

are to continue to develop the capacity of participating organizations to be able to

implement their work plans. Operating support, funds to hire additional staff,

stewardship funds, assistance with GIS mapping, community education funds and

possibly acquisition funds are all part of the plan.

THE NORTH QUABBIN REGIONAL LANDSCAPE PARTNERSHIP (MA)

In May of 1997, the Mt. Grace Land Conservation Trust, the Massachusetts

Department of Environmental Management, and the Harvard Forest sponsored a regional

meeting to discuss forming a collaborative effort to protect the North Quabbin region.

Over 40 people attended, and the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership was

born. The mission of the effort is “to collaborate to identify, protect, and enhance

strategic ecological, cultural, and historic open space in the rural landscape of the North

Quabbin Region” (Youngblood, 1997, p.1).

Covering approximately 1800 square miles in central Massachusetts, the North

Quabbin region stretches from the Connecticut River Valley in the west to Mt. Wachusett

28

in the east, and reaches south to the Prescott Peninsula in the Quabbin Reservoir and

north to the New Hampshire border (Figure 5).

Figure 5: North Quabbin Region (Golodetz and Foster, 1997)

Some of the largest roadless areas in Massachusetts are found here, as are the forested

hills, wetlands, rivers, and lakes that numerous species, including bobcat, fisher, and

warblers all call home (North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership, 1998). Thirty-

seven percent of the region is already protected (Golodetz and Foster, 1997), making it

the largest contiguous complex of protected lands in all of Southern New England (North

Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership, 1998).

At least 25 private organizations, regional and municipal commissions, and state

and federal agencies participate in the partnership, including three land trusts: the Mt.

Grace Land Conservation Trust (MGLCT), the New England Forestry Foundation, and

the Trustees of Reservations. Various participants have handled coordination of the

group over time, with staff members of the MGLCT, volunteers, and staff members of

county planning departments all having filled the role at different times. An executive

committee meets on a quarterly basis, while the full group meets approximately twice a

year.

A primary function of the partnership is to raise the profile of selected projects,

proposed by participants, through an endorsement procedure. As such, the partnership

itself does not handle and receive funding; rather, the individual groups heading up each

project will receive and distribute funds. Two early partnership-endorsed, cooperative

29

projects included the protection of Tully Mountain and the establishment of the twenty-

mile long Tully Loop Trail. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental

Management, the Sudbury Foundation, the Fields Pond Foundation, Eastern Mountain

Sports, the National Park Service, and others contributed to the various organizations that

participated in this project. Currently, significant funding for additional land protection

projects is being provided through the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs

(EOEA), which has identified the region as a statewide priority. The EOEA’s “Tully

Initiative,” in its first nine months, helped protect 4,785 acres in 81 parcels in the North

Quabbin Region (Youngblood, 2001), and aims to protect over 10,000 more (New

England Forestry Foundation, 2000). Other future cooperative projects include land

protection around Lake Rohunta, and possibly near the “1000-acre Swamp” near the

small town of Phillipston.

THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INITIATIVE (unofficial name)

(ID, MT, WY (U.S.), AND BC, AB (CANADA))

The newest of the five case studies chosen, the Northern Rockies Initiative began

in the spring of 2000. The “Northern Rockies” region can be loosely defined (from an

United States-based perspective) as the montane ecosystem stretching from western

Wyoming through Idaho and east/central Montana and into British Columbia and

Alberta. Large protected areas, including Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton

National Park, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the Frank Church Wilderness,

the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, and Banff National Park exist within this region

(Figure 6).

30

Figure 6: Major Ecosystems of the Northern Rockies Region (American Wildlands,

2002)

As such, the full complement of native aquatic and terrestrial wildlife species present at

the time of Lewis and Clark’s fabled exploration continues to exist. Growth and

development pressures outside these protected areas, however, bring the long-term

survival of these populations under question.

Currently, the Initiative consists of over 20 local land trusts and national land

conservation organizations with offices in the region. The Northwest office of the Land

31

Trust Alliance and hired consultants have been coordinating the group’s activities thus

far, but a leadership subgroup has been formed and a coordinator will be hired soon.

Additionally, a name that accurately reflects the geographic area under consideration will

likely be decided upon soon (currently, the fact that what participants in the United States

call the “Northern Rockies” are the “Southern Rockies” to Canadian partners is causing

some delay). The group meets at least twice yearly, and has been supported by the

Kendall Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Wilburforce

Foundation. The Duke Foundation grant, the largest at $500,000, will “provide training,

technical assistance, and matching grants to boost collaborative land protection in the

region” (Land Trust Alliance, 2001a, p.1). The group has already carried out significant

mapping efforts, utilizing GIS, to provide greater geographic understanding of the region

to participants. In the future, it is likely that the cooperative effort will support

conservation planning and stewardship projects by the individual trusts.